Smoked Meats, Playing Cards and Penalty Appeals: Thanks, D.C.

Smoked Meats, Playing Cards and Penalty Appeals: Thanks, D.C.

It was the first playoff game in half a decade for DC United, at home, against their most hated rival. Of course there was a chance that RFK was gonna get weird last night. It definitely did. Thanks in part to bizarre scenes on the pitch, and a jacked-up vibe in the stands, we won't soon forget it.

We've been going to games for a while, but we can't ever remember seeing something like this. During D.C.'s warmup, we had a supporter toss a playing card, the ace of spades, onto the field near where Bill Hamid and Pat Onstad were getting ready. I can't really do the rest of it justice, just watch.

My first RFK experience was in 2007. It was David Beckham's competitive debut in MLS, and it was wild. The atmosphere at RFK last night measured up to that match, easily. This was, as you might gather, just before kick off.